A state-of-the-art containership designed by the Schulte Group to meet the most stringent international environmental standards is already outperforming in terms of design and performance and attracting positive attention in the industry.

Container ship Carl Schulte - Image: Andrew Priest

The 5,400 TEU Carl Schulte, along with its two sister vessels, Christa Schulte and Clemens Schulte, has many environmental features as standard. Her owner Bernhard Schulte, together with her manager Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), succeeded in pushing the boundaries when it came to hull design and the fitting of one of the most efficient engines on the market. Ensuring this work was undertaken during the design phase, they installed sophisticated software to optimise voyage planning and to measure the CO2, SOX and NOX emissions. All sister vessels have a state of the art ballast water treatment plant fitted. The owner worked with DNV GL to ensure that their vision and aspirations were fully met, which also resulted in the vessel being fitted with a class approved emergency response system to deal with any untoward environmental incidents. Subsequently, DNV GL issued a Green Passport to all sister vessels.

According to Prakhar Singh Chandel, Fleet Manager - Energy Optimisation for BSM, construction and operation of such a vessel is fully aligned with the Group's commitment to preserving and respecting the environment in all its activities.

"We have installed new hardware and software solutions, carried out intensive crew training and introduced new environmental processes and procedures to ensure that the highest environmental standards are maintained at all times," he said.

Container ship Clemens Schulte - Image: Hans Fairhurst

So impressive is Carl Schulte's operating results that it is currently performing in the top 2% of containerships of its size and type. The vessel has been graded by RightShip, the maritime vessel vetting specialist, as A+ on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions scale, and has been given a five-star Environmental Score rating, placing the ship in the top 20 vessels out of 76,000 ships graded by RightShip.

As a result, this vessel attracts significant discounts from ports that place environmental protection at the centre of everything they do.

Recently the Carl Schulte established an environmental first by consecutively visiting two of these ground breaking ports, Port Metro Vancouver and Prince Rupert Port Authority – and in so doing attracted significant economic benefits.

Port Metro Vancouver's EcoAction programme recognises and rewards vessels that go beyond pre-set requirements to reduce their air emissions, offering a discount of up to 47% in harbour dues.

Container Ship Christa Schulte - Image: Dennis Temlin

Vessels are eligible for reduced fees if they use alternative fuels and technologies; shore power; or have obtained acceptable scores in third party environmental programmes such as the RightShip Environmental Score, Environmental Ship Index, Clean Shipping Index, Green Marine, Green Award or ship classification societies.

Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) 's Green Wave Program recognises and rewards vessels that have a lower environmental footprint, offering three levels of discounted harbour dues based on the environmental performance of the vessel.